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To lay hold on; to seize, especially with the hand; to
grasp (anything) in motion, with the effect of holding; as, to catch a
ball. |
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To seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief. |
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To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as,
to catch a bird or fish. |
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Hence: To insnare; to entangle. |
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To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as,
to catch a melody. |
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To communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught
the adjoining building. |
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To engage and attach; to please; to charm. |
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To get possession of; to attain. |
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To take or receive; esp. to take by sympathy, contagion,
infection, or exposure; as, to catch the spirit of an occasion; to
catch the measles or smallpox; to catch cold; the house caught fire. |
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To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to
catch one in the act of stealing. |
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To reach in time; to come up with; as, to catch a train. |
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To attain possession. |
• |
To be held or impeded by entanglement or a light
obstruction; as, a kite catches in a tree; a door catches so as not to
open. |
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To take hold; as, the bolt does not catch. |
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To spread by, or as by, infecting; to communicate. |
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Act of seizing; a grasp. |
• |
That by which anything is caught or temporarily fastened;
as, the catch of a gate. |
• |
The posture of seizing; a state of preparation to lay hold
of, or of watching he opportunity to seize; as, to lie on the catch. |
• |
That which is caught or taken; profit; gain; especially, the
whole quantity caught or taken at one time; as, a good catch of fish. |
• |
Something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife in
matrimony. |
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Passing opportunities seized; snatches. |
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A slight remembrance; a trace. |
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A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers
catch up each other's words. |